There was no way Ben Rowe was going to miss this weekend’s race at Scotia Speedworld.

Scott Kelly’s number 12 and Scott Fraser’s number 00 will be retired prior to tonight’s Atlantic Cat 250. Both men passed away during the prime of their racing careers. Kelly lost his battle with cancer in 1999 when he was 28 and Fraser died in a snowmobiling accident in 2004 when he was 33.

Rowe of Turner, Me., went head-to-head with both racers several times. Kelly finished second in the 1996 Oxford (Maine) 250 at Rowe’s home race and Fraser also made a number of appearances at the event.

Rowe has been a regular at the Atlantic Cat 250 over the years, finishing ahead of Fraser in first place in 2002 and 2003.

“We were big rivals but we are also great friends,” said Rowe, who also won the 2011 Atlantic Cat 250. “Me and Scotty went at it pretty hard every time we raced and it’s just an honour that they invited me up for this race. We became pretty close over the years; with the whole family really.

“Now that I’m here and I see his old car, it brings back a lot of great memories. He was such a great guy and a great driver. It’ll be emotional but we’re also here to try to win a race.”

Two-time Atlantic Cat 250 winner Cassius Clark of Farmington, Me., will also take part in the race. He, Rowe and Donald Chisholm of Antigonish will wear Fraser’s old colours for the occasion. Chisholm bought Kelly’s last race car and will be in a throwback of his number 12 for the race.

“At Scotia, (Fraser) was the man to beat and we’ve had pretty good success up here,” said Rowe, whose father Mike is a two-time race champion. “I was always running hard against him. I got by him on the last few laps a few times. It was always really close and then he’d come to Maine and put a whooping on us. It was just a lot of fun. He was a big rival. He was at the top of his game so it was always fun to come up here and run against him.”

Kelly was inducted into the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2008 and Fraser entered in 2006. Fraser will be inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in November.

“When I got the phone call with the news (of Fraser’s death), I was just like everybody else,” Rowe said. “It kind of blows your mind because you never expect to hear those things and you never want to hear those things. A couple of the other drivers and I came up to the funeral and we went to the family’s house and hung out with them. But it was such a tragedy and it was tough for everybody to go through it.”

The gates at Scotia Speedworld open at 2 p.m. and the race is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.